January in Kenya

Wildlife wanders in and out of our flat, here a yellow pansy on the window in the bathroom.  This seems to be the season for butterflies, beautiful ones that mostly don't sit still for the camera!

While the Graber's were still here in early January, we took a stroll through tea fields outside of Nairobi

And more tea fields - even though a monoculture,there's something soothing about the different symmetries of the fields!

The boys spent several days up at Brackenhurst retreat center with Grandpa and Grandma, while Mom and Dad worked.

Our tortilla chefs!

Karura forest is always a pleasant get-away

Karura has some nice tropical buttressed trees to enjoy.

The worm bucket I started at our home to compost our kitchen scraps has been a success, so I took a starter set out to one of the schools - Mukuru.  Teachers and students were fascinated by it, and had never heard about worm composting.  One particularly enthusiastic teacher has taken charge of the bucket, and two weeks later it was looking good! (not sitting in the hot sun, or smoothered in foods wastes, both fates I was worried about).  

Despite living "outdoors" (flimsy walls of the shacks in the slums and lots of dirt around), they were interested in the worms.  Some were grossed out by them.  And we had a long discussion trying to figure out what the kiswahili word for worm was.  They either knew the word in their tribal language, or simply did not run across worms enough to having given it a thought.  

The school on a rainy day, obviously lots of mud.  Because access is difficult, I park at a gas station about a mile away, and then walk into the slum to get to the school.  I go to each of the two schools once per week.  

Gumboots are a requirement whenever there is rain.  Everybody wears them, if they have them - students, teachers and wazungu alike.

One day on the walk out of Mukuru, along the wall of an industry, the Mukuru Arts Union (MAU, a play on the old "mau-mau" movement, I suppose) was painting wonderful murals on walls.  Here, the mural on water is creatively painted below an actual downspout.

Another on the series of murals, promoting all the positive values that one often doesn't associate with slums.  Despite the difficult conditions one immediately notices, it's amazing to see the vibrancy of the community, and the many "positive forces" that become more obvious the more we get to know the place.  I've come to enjoy the walk into the school - through the mud, trash and pollution, but also through a place alive with so many wonderful residents and interesting activities.  (I'm hesitant to poke my camera at that part of Mukuru, so an inadequate description will have to do!)

Out in Ukumbani, the good rains have produced a good crop.  Mostly one sees maize fields, although other crops are being promoted by various organizations and agencies, including the partners of MCC.  The farmers were happy to show off their bountiful harvest this year!  Typically maize fails 3 out of 4 seasons in the region, so this is an unusual year.

When staying out in the countryside, it's always a pleasure to go for an evening walk through the hills.